Purpose: The Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR) developed by the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) can be used to improve the performance of online public access catalogs (OPACs). The purpose of this paper is to reveal several characteristics of the “Works” in a Japanese academic library catalog and, based
on these characteristics, determine how FRBR can enhance Japanese catalogs.
Methods: KOSMOSII, the OPAC at Keio University Library, was selected as an example of a Japanese academic library catalog, and the sample records extracted from KOSMOSII were applied to FRBR Entities: Work, Expression, and Manifestation. One thousand Works were analyzed to determine the characteristics of the Works and the Relationships these Works have with each other.
Results: As a result, it was determined that 81.6% of the sample records were Works which have only one Manifestation. This trend was the same as that identified in the OCLC study on Worldcat records. Four relationships were identified in this experiment; Revision, Translation, Multiple version, and Reproduction. In addition, the distinctive features of the Works, named
as Work Patterns, were found in the fields of natural sciences, the arts, and literature. These results mean that FRBR could make Japanese library catalogs more effective.
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